Does regular physical exercises during radiotherapy influence on fatigue, and physical endurance in high-risk prostate cancer patients?

Abstract

Background. During radiotherapy (RT), prostate cancer (PCa) patients very often report fatigue, which impairs functional capacity, psychological status, and quality of life (QoL). It is well known that physical exercise plays an important role in healthy adults, has positive role for immunological aspects and improves QoL in cancer patients. Previous studies have shown that physical exercise in cancer patients undergoing RT improves cardiac fitness, and QoL, however it is still not well known how physical exercise affects physical fitness and fatigue in PCa patients during RT. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of supervised physical exercise on the relationship between fatigue and physical endurance in high-risk PCa patients undergoing RT. Material and Methods This was a prospective, two-arm randomised controlled clinical trial. The study was performed in outpatients in the Greater Poland Cancer Centre. Population. Seventy-two high-risk PCa men were randomly allocated to two groups prior to undergoing RT. Thirty-six patients performed supervised moderate-intensity physical exercise (exercise group; EG) and the other 36 formed a control group that carried out normal daily physical activity (usual group; UG). The following parameters were assessed before and after RT: functional capacity, fatigue scores. Results. No significant differences existed between the study groups at pre-RT assessment. After RT, there was a significant improvement in functional capacity (p<0.05) and important smaller fatigue scores in EG. Conclusion. Regular, moderate-intensity physical exercise improves functional capacity and has positive influence on fatigue symptoms during RT in high-risk PCa patients. Therefore, this group of patients should conduct regular physical training during RT to decrease side effects of treatment.